


Tabletop Treasure

by anotherdirtycomputer



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: After The Storm, Dungeons and Dragons, Grahamscott, M/M, NaNoWriMo, One Shot, jeffershit mentions (vaguely), nathan and victoria are best friends, nathan has ptsd, ps it ends kind of weirdly because i suck at endings but hopefully its at least sweet, romantic nerdery, vic is a closet weeaboo, warren with diagnosed anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 16:24:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12610688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anotherdirtycomputer/pseuds/anotherdirtycomputer
Summary: Nathan gets roped into playing DnD with Warren and friends. Somehow.





	Tabletop Treasure

**Author's Note:**

> OOF NANOWRIMO TIME... im going to do fanfic this year to prepare for the workload of it and to see what my capabilities are, and i'll be attempting mostly grahamscott so! if that interests you, stay tuned :p this takes place a couple of years after the storm (bae over bay but everyone survives). the characters seem a bit bland to me, but hopefully that's just because ive read this fic 30 times already trying to edit and revise and now type it up. also - the thing about tieflings uhhh ive only played dnd a couple times and it was entirely fucking around so take that with a grain of salt
> 
> anyways... enjoy !

Steph Gingrich shook the dice in her half-closed fist as she stared Nathan in the eye, her left brow quirked and her mouth smiling questioningly. “So… You playing?”

Nathan’s eyebrows furrowed, his eyes closing momentarily, and he fought the urge to groan. He had just come to the park to bring Warren the laptop bag he’d called and asked for. He’d claimed to have “forgotten it” a home. Nathan hadn’t meant to stay, though Victoria and Taylor were here, which intrigued him… The look on Warren’s face (wide-eyed, expectant, and a sad kind of hopeful) was quick to convince him, however, that this was exactly what the absolute _geek_ had expected.

With a sigh, Nathan sat down next to his boyfriend, thanking his lucky stars he’d turned off the oven before he’d left. Sometimes Warren could be… tiring; but Nathan knew he didn’t mean any harm.

“So,” Nathan shifted nervously, eyeing Steph. They were friends now, but his old words and actions towards her still haunted him. “How’s the wife?”

However Nathan felt, Steph grinned. She knew Nathan cared about the woman she married. “She’s great! She wanted to be here, but she’s at work.”

“A social worker, right?”

Steph nodded, looking proud. “Yup. A good one, too.”

Nathan smiled at that. He didn’t need to be told to know that she was good at her job. Sam had always had a sweet heart. She’d even tried to help him back in the day. All Nathan did anymore was work at the diner, serving bitter coffee to equally bitter small town cops.

“Hi, Nate,” Vic coughed from where she’d been half-hiding behind Steph. She looked very much like she was trying _not_ to look nervous. Nathan loved her so much. “Good to see you.”

He really, really loved her. Even just hearing her voice made him relax, muscles easing from their previously tense state.

Trying not to laugh, Nathan said easily, “I thought there was a showcase thing you had to be at today? I felt bad I couldn’t go.”

Victoria rolled her eyes, though Nathan could see a bit of regret and anxiety there. All this time, and she still kept her interests hidden… Didn’t she know being into this stuff was cool now?

“Don’t believe everything a closet-geek says on Facebook.” She sighed, resting her chin in her hands. The sun shined a halo onto her hair, making her glow like a weeaboo angel. “Do you even have a character, Nate?”

“Uh…”

“You can use a premade one,” Steph started to suggest, but Warren shuffled close to Nathan, giving Steph pause.

“Actually,” Warren admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, his smile small and crooked. He whispered into Nathan’s ear, “I already made you a character.”

Steph’s lips quirked in an amused smile as she raised an eyebrow at Nathan and his dumb, embarrassing, _nerd_ of a boyfriend. It made Nathan anxious, even as his heart fluttered happily in his chest like a small, queer bird, so instead of asking anything he wanted to (“why?” “when?” “how?”), all he could choke out was, “Gay?”

Warren grinned with all his teeth. “That _is_ kind of the point, yeah.” He tangled his fingers with Nathan’s on the bench between them, leaning into Nathan’s space.

Victoria mimed gagging at him, but her eyes were smiling. Next to her, Taylor was very quiet and seemed to be hoping he wouldn’t notice her. Even after all this time, she was still afraid of him. He wondered briefly if maybe he should’ve stayed home, seeing as Warren obviously hadn’t needed the laptop… He only got so many days off; he’d hate to use one making someone uncomfortable. He didn’t want to do that anymore.

Warren, at least, seemed happy. And Nathan always loved seeing Victoria.

“Uh,” Nathan’s shoulders hunched. “Show me the character, Gayram.”

Warren shifted a bit nervously, still smiling. His excitement was clear, even if it was a bit reserved. “You really wanna see?”

Nathan blinked, then nodded.

Warren brought a clean-looking black binder with a white label out of the bag at his side, the sight of which made Nathan flinch violently. When he opened it, there were different stat sheets and character drawings, but black and white pictures of frowning girls danced behind Nathan’s eyelids, making it hard to focus, hard to _breathe_.

Victoria’s hand reached across the table. “You’ve got something in your hair,” she lied, petting his curls for much longer than would be acceptable if he did.

He loved her so much. He’d have to talk to her before they left, though, otherwise Warren would get torn to pieces; he’d talk to him on his own time soon.

“Okay,” said Warren, oblivious. Nathan, honestly, found it refreshing. He hated being treated like a freak, but he hated being babied more. “So, here’s your character.”

Watching Warren slide the paper towards him, Nathan readied himself, trying to steel his nerves back into place. He was a bit familiar with DnD thanks to both Warren _and_ Victoria (the same was he was familiar with _Neon Genesis Evangelion_ and _Madoka Magicka_ and _Cannibal Holocaust_ ), but he’d always been an art geek himself. Nathan nerded out over movies and plays and most of all, musicals… He could quote _Heathers_ lyric for lyric ( _‘Freeze Your Brain’_ was a big favorite), but ask him to explain the difference between _Andorians_ and _Midochloricans_ and you’d be sorely disappointed.

The character sheet Warren presented him with, however, wasn’t like the elves and knights Nathan had come to expect from fantasy.

The character drawing showed a man with pale red skin, almost pink, with dark curls and curling red horns. The eyes were completely black, and a long tail completed the demonic look.

Warren exclaimed happily, “A tiefling!” which, to Nathan, explained nothing.

“A… tiefling.”

“Yeah!” Scooching closer, Warren pointed at the paper. “Tieflings are… seen a certain way; literally demonized by the society around them. They aren’t automatically evil, though -- often pushed there by expectations, but… you know. The only reason they _look_ so demonic at all is because of their family. They’re really similar to humans, and just as capable of good.”

Nathan looked at the drawing again and saw something much closer to his heart. It was corny, for sure, but Warren had obviously put thought into this… and Nathan put 2 and 2 together very quickly with the characterization. He looked up at Warren with wide eyes, wider when he saw Warren’s shy smile. Warren had diagnosed anxiety, but he could hardly be called shy -- seeing such a genuinely bashful look on Warren’s face, blush and all, was strange, to say the least. It rendered Nathan silent.

Warren’s voice was much quieter than usual as he continued, “They make me think of you. You can make your own or play a premade, but-”

Nathan surged forward into a quick kiss to shut him up, then glanced quickly at Steph, Victoria, and Taylor. Taylor seemed to have left when Nathan wasn’t looking, though her purse was still there, but Steph and Vic were both hunched over, pretending to be penciling in last-minute details (Vic didn’t even have a pencil in her hand… cute).

“It’s… good, Warren.” The genuine warmth in those big brown eyes of his made Nathan smile. “Thanks. For, uh. Thinking of me.”

“Of course, babe.”

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are a writers best friend! also - hmu with requests if youd like @nathangayram on tumblr !!


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